How to Shoot a Low-Budget 4K Music Video on the Canon 1D C with Philip Bloom

You might know him from his excellent camera reviews, but Philip Bloom also has a large body of work online that consists of music videos, documentaries, and narratives. For his most recent project, Philip has joined forces with one of his frequent collaborators, Olly Knights, to shoot a music video for the main single off Olly's new album Bitten By the Frost. The piece was shot in two days on the Canon 1D C DSLR, and a few great behind the scenes videos have been posted online in addition to the music video. Check out all of them below.

Playing on the mundanity of everyday life that song plays on I wanted the video to show this. My idea that his life is so mundane that we are literally passengers in it and we drift through day with little changing until the whole thing just becomes an endless cycle.

To show this I wanted Olly to stay in the frame in the same position in every single shot. Only the background would change and I needed his performance to be quietly intense but without too much expression as we are going for a mundane life type feel. I also needed real everyday things for hi to drift through. Bed, breakfast, tube, work etc. But with a twist being that things go a little differently on one day…

With Olly being in each frame the sense I wanted to feel like life was passing him by without even noticing it and especially without moving! He would sing the song and as he does it his we run through his whole week . To emphasise this the edits wouldn’t be on line breaks but during words at times creating a really fluid feel as we run through the 7 days.

Here are the terrific behind the scenes videos:

If you look at the way the crew had to move and some of the shots they needed to steal, the 1D C is certainly a logical choice based on the image quality. Philip wanted some room to crop if he needed it, so that's part of the reason for choosing to shoot 4K -- and if you're looking for a small and compact 4K camera that shoots to CF cards -- the 1D C is pretty much your only option.

Since it was a low-budget music video, Philip acted as most of the main roles, which is quite difficult when you consider the number of shots they were doing per day. It's always great to have separate people operating in different positions, but sometimes it's just impossible to have more crew members and you have to make do with what you have. It's great to see how much organization was involved to pull off the production, and for anyone who is going to attempt their own low-budget music video, head on over to Philip's website for an in-depth post about his process and the pre-production involved with the shoot.

Micro is smaller then low, that was my point. In Hollywood terms $50k and under is no-budget, for features. In internet/short/music video terms Phillip is definitely correct in saying this is a low or no-budget piece

it's low budget if it's my gear and i am not getting paid nor are any of us but doing it for a mate. Just think of it as a rental house gave it to me for free for 2 days except the rental house is me. There we go. Free! :)

The term is relative and it gets thrown around way too much these days. In hollywood terms, "low budget" is anything under, like, 25 million. Drive, for example, was a "low budget" film. So was Black Swan. But in online film blog terms, low budget can refer to something made in 1 weekend on a few hundred dollars of rented gear and copy/credit/meal crew and talent.

Really love Philip's passion for sharing. I have followed him since I 1st picked up a DSLR. It's a pity that he often has to deal with trolls too. Keep up the good work Bloom Boy, and that is a very cool video too. : )

Mr. Bloom is GREAT!!!....so glad to see him sticking with Canon and not being a ship jumper to the "RAW" madness that's going around.....lmao we still haven't seen a steady flow of the new RAW cam that I won't name....but Canon and Nikon just deliver.....remember it's just a tool.....the artist does the painting, the tool doesn't do it

This argument has got to be the most incorrect cliche when it comes to discussing filmmaking, and in particular, cinematography.

There is a reason the world's best cinematographers choose to shoot on Alexa's and 35mm film. The tool IS IMPORTANT. I'm sick of people writing off the importance of the camera/film-stock. Further, it is also equally important to choose an "inferior" camera in order to generate mood and atmosphere, i.e. Canon XL1s on "28 Days Later".

And you're glad Bloom is "sticking to Canon"? Way do be vendor agnostic...

So long as Canon charges $10,000+ for 8-bit cameras, financially sensible filmmakers everywhere will not take them seriously. The skintones and overall gradation in this video alone is enough to make any financially sensible filmmaker turn away from Canon. $12,000...give me a break.

You should watch more Kendy videos, he uses a cheap Canon and a simple sigma lens. Everything else is skill and talent. One of the main reasons to use Alexa's is time. "They use such and such because" is assuming far too many things, you either know from personal experience or you don't. If you don't know, don't pretend you do by pointing at others. Alexa's are very forgiving and you can spend less time lighting, it's great because it fits all the 35mm stuff most crews are used to. But it is just as easy to screw up a shoot with an Alexa.

I agree with everything you're saying. Actually it's quite easy to make 35mm or an Arri Alexa look terrible if you don't know know how to light the set. It's all about light really. If you're good on that you really can make any camera look good. It's not really about 8-bit or 12-bit. A light sensitive sensor (like 1DC) makes it possible to use less light and that can be a real good thing. And sometimes it's better to use more light and that works better with film or, for exemple, Red.

Content is king mate - Searching for Sugarman is partly shot on an iphone yet won an oscar. Many people make awful films with great cameras. Yes the tool is important, but just like any other piece of hardware or technology, the person/people using it will determine the outcome, you can't deny that pal.

Big fat "WHATEVER". Tools are bullshit and are secondary. I would rather see Deakins or Khondji shoot something on a phone than most amateurs shooting in 15-perf 65mm. And Picasso and just about every other famous painter did amazing sketches with pieces of charcoal.

The top cinematographers have access and budgets to the best materials (cameras, higher wattages for more light control with better lighting instruments...blahblahblah)...but this is not what makes their work great. And this is why good up and coming cinematographers always can make their crappy compressed h.264 8-bit whatever look pretty damned good (& make the other side of the Internet bitchers claim, man, screw the $85k cameras...so and so did this amazing thing on a hacked GH2...etc...).

Professional race car drivers drive very expensive cars...that's a field where the top professionals are in an even more technical field than filmmaking is (or has become). I remember my dad taking a racing class when I was a kid and most of the people had 911's and other higher end cars...and the race instructor drove an old automatic station wagon and beat every single one of them. Never confuse the skills with the tools.

8-bit unfortunately rears its ugly head yet again though, especially in the skin-tones. That's what kills me about the 1DC - minus the resolution, anything shot on it looks like it could have been done with virtually any other DSLR on the market at the moment.

I love the 1DC but this isn't its best work. I agree you could have shot this with other DSLRs.
And I've not liked any of the clips he's made on whatever he shot them on.
As a micro budget clip its ok though. And its good he's passionate about it.

The key takeout - there's no reason not to just get out there and do it.

One thing I don't entirely understand -- when you shoot in 4K intending to reframe in post, does that mean that, at time of shootng, you're intentionally composing with extra space bordering the image you really want? Are there frame lines (or gaffer tape) on your monitor to help you?

I suspect some people actually do do this! Dimly recall reading something about Girl With A Dragon Tattoo in ASC Magazine to this effect.

If Philip is not doing this, then does shooting 4K really give him any reframing ability, given the strict framing requirements of this project?

Haven't inspected the video closely, but reframing could be useful in the train shots (for stabilisation) and in the fridge shot (in case you can't quite get that thing level on the bag).

because Olly had to be exactly matched in frame and even though we had film over the monitor with an outline i needed a bit of leeway hence the ability to crop in without loss of resolution could have been useful. In the end I needed to crop in by around just 5-6%. James got it pretty damn close.

Loved the video by the way, and very much admire the logistics efforts.

Trying to think of the famous music video that may have inspired it. Anyone here know? U2 or something. Some guy's face in frame, getting random things done to it, people putting their feet on it, etc, while he continues impassively singing.

yes...it does. Because working with clients who default....is by definition working
with amateurs. Indeed is so hard to work pro nowadays...just because the pro
clients are mostly gone leaving only amateur clients who know nothing and pay nothing.

Loved the music video. I recently stuck my GH2 in a fridge for a TV promo. I also put it in a rain bag and buried it in an ice bin for someone to scoop ice out of in the foreground. Both shots looked great and had a higher production value look because traditionally they would have required some pretty serious props to make work with larger cameras, though I will say it made me a bit nervous since the GH2 is not as well protected against the elements as the 1D C.

really like this video, its mesmorising, deceivingly simply looking and a great concept, although i must agree with comments on the picture quality being less then i would expect from the 1DC, thats a little disappointing

Mr. Bloom, my subjective opinion is this was very good. I liked the unique center framing and as a DSLR shooter myself, I thought the footage looked great.

Honestly, I don't understand the rather unnecessary comments on this video given all the insight and knowledge you have provided for free over the years. It doesn't mean people should be bias, but at least be constructive rather then just plain rude.

Very good. Videos made for slow, sad songs are often boring but this one kept me watching until the end. There's nothing really special about any of these shots and yet I keep wondering what will be in the next one. A great idea and execution.

I've been visiting this website for a long time...I've been posting things...some good some bad, and even with some bad maners but today the post : " i can take "low budget" seriously when seeing Bloom with his hipster friends around him" was deleted.....I just can't believe how this can be banned!!! I really don't...I hope this is just a Joe Marine decision and not some "advicing" from Bloom, that would be just disrespectfull to freedom of speech, since I dind't say anything to be deletted. I would like to know what this is all about!!

First comment in this post is:
Sico on 03.11.13 @ 1:12PM
I can’t take a ‘low budget’ serious, when you see gear like TVLogic and a 1DC.

So...what's the difference?? I don't mean to delete sico's post since I don't find it offensive as I don't find offesive mine aswell, and I never talk about Bloom's work, even in some comments later I say I think his popularitty is well deserved since he has a long carrer in the industry. So...

What I have seen is Bloom bitchin (like a 5 year old spoiled child ) on Twitter/Facebook about someone talking and saying that I didn't like his works because he was with his hipsters friends , and that it's totally false since I never said I didn't like the work he does, and not even like/not like a job because of the people involved. I really don't care how famous Bloom is, he has to be mature enough to get through all this stuff and not bitching on social network and demanding to delete comments about him or his job. I've seen more disrespectfull comments that have not been deleted. Bloom is never active in this site, and he only comments when you guys talk about him, and he even comes here asking to delete things he doesn't like to hear?? I just can't believe this is not the independent/amateur/professional/community website it was... I'm really dissapointed. You guys who rule NFS should tell Bloom to take it easy instead of being a Diva.

I'm sorry because I really liked this website and comments and keep learning from the great job you guys are doing.

No one has ever asked us to delete anything, it's completely our decision. This, like other threads, has gotten totally off topic and is just disrespectful, and I've done what I've done in plenty of other threads. Of course it's a judgment call, that's always the issue with moderating. But it reflects poorly on those of us who run the site and write here.

Joe pretty much deletes any comment that doesn't, at the least, constructively criticize the topic of the article. I know this, because 3/4ths of my comments get deleted now within 8 hours. I like the policy and I totally understand that they have an image of credibility to keep up (something that goes down the drain when you have a rapidly growing userbase and tons of camera fanboyism going on), but honestly, the site is not as fun now.

I know what moderating is, and I aprecciate it aswell as i aprecciate the effort to run NFS. But i'm just saying that what I said wasn't disrespectfull and right after Bloom is talking bout that on twitter and facebook my comments gets deletted, that's all. I don't like this kind of discussion but I was just pointed out something that has pissed me off. That's all. :)

What you wrote was disrespectful to Philip as a person, and that is unacceptable. If you can have the decency to bridle your untempered emotions and refrain from personal attack, perhaps you will find that your comments stay online a little longer.

Excellent music video in terms of accomplishing the feeling. mood and look you wanted to establish. It worked. Some scenes looked filmic, others more like video, but all of them had composition I'd be proud of if it was my project. The music wasn't my thing, but I chalk that up to UK vs. US pop sensibilities. It's very high concept and looks like anything but a no budget music video.

Blimey indeed! I think the misconception is that we thread commenters believe we simply MUST share every opinion we have... Try that with your wife; you'll learn better very quickly.
Thank you, Philip, for your work! Thank you for your efforts! Thank you for your fridged shot and your freezing cold 1DC review!
I read a quote from someone (can't remember who) saying that basically putting your work out there for others to judge is the hardest part of making a film. As a YouTube partner, I believe this to be absolutely spot on! So, thank you, Philip!

Keep up the good work Philip. Very much appreciate your giving back with your BTS films. You don't get paid for that either do you? I guess your an amateur phianthropist too. I have learned a ton from you and other filmmakers that take the time to share your passions. I am very envious that you get to do what you love...AND get paid for it.
Good luck or as you like to say "Cheers"!!!

This was amazing. So simple, but perfectly executed. He could have gotten away with magic hour sunlight and gotten inevitable 10/10 shots, like you can on most DSLRs or the BMCC... but no... He actually lit his scenes, composed every shot to be part of a narrative.

How many times have I seen music videos or vignettes, art videos etc... that are shot by a window with the sun setting, or a breath-taking location at magic hour... of course it's gonna look friggin fabulous... not to bring anyone down who takes advantage of these situations, but Bloom actually has the skill to make any location, with real lighting look good on any camera. Not to many can do that...

Oh... and he didn't abuse his FS700 by bringing it in for slow motion, which is getting so overused it's giving me a headache every time I check out Vimeo now. Seriously... props for not using slow motion in a music video. This crutch has been exploited to death, and people need to somehow move on creatively. I think anyone that wants to shoot a music video could take a few hints here.

Aren't you something . So above it ,you don't need anyone's comments ,opinion's or really anything. Only one thing though - You see- that's who you are making these tiring videos for. Oh, I know you dont think you are ,cause your so above it all , but trust me - you are making them for nobodies. Cause they are the ones in the end who pay your bills ....JERK.
And you know what , the Guy was right - Lose the Slo-Mo and think of something of your own.

Pros make art. Critics judge it. That is why Mr. Bloom is never on your YouTube page telling you that your video sucks. He's a working professional that has accomplished more than 99% of us will ever in our film making careers.

There is a common theme among people that are successful in this field and people that aren't. People that are don't critique another artists work because they KNOW what goes into it. The fact that you guys are taking time out of your day to critique someone else's work on here SHOWS that you are in fact, not working professionals...rendering your opinion completely useless.

Go out, further yourself in film, and don't come back or comment until you have. Your tone will most definitely change. Until then enjoy the view from the outside because you will never succeed with such a judgmental attitude. That is a fact.

Luke I find that a naive thing to say, critiquing work is a vital part of self learning and self improvement. It helps people to develop a taste and a style. Taking on board others critical comments can help us all to improve. Filmmakers and any artists need critics, and any artist should be critical of themselves and others, regardless of the work gone into a project. Nothing should be safe from criticism.

To dismiss this important role and to say that anyone who spends time giving criticism, either positive or negative, is naive and plain wrong

I'm not saying there is NO place for constructive criticism. I'm saying that you need to have some credibility and a basis for your "knowledge". Just because I played basketball in high school doesn't mean I'm going to tell Dwight Howard how to shoot free throws. Just because I once made a grilled cheese sandwich doesn't mean I can be a food critic, or EXPECT a professional chef to take my opinion seriously. Sounds pretty ridiculous when applied to other fields, doesn't it?

Most people on this site aren't qualified to give Philip Bloom constructive criticism and are just being disrespectful because they can hide behind anonymity.

You essentially said there was no place for criticism, dismissing anyone who criticises by saying that if you criticise something your opinion is invalid because you are not professional.

That was an incredibly dismissive and naive comment.

Ever go to the cinema and say "that movie was too long, not shot well, not performed well? Is your opinion of Peter Jackson or Spielberg less valid then anyone elses? Course not. They might not care what you think but thats irrelevant. What makes art so wonderful is that it is subjective, everyone's opinion is valid, no one is more qualified then anyone else to decide what is good or bad.

And no it doesnt sound ridiculous when you apply it to other fields. Frankly the only thing that sounds ridiculous is your original comment.

Ever go to a restaurant and complain? Not get food of the quality you would expect? You just criticised a professional chef. Is your opinion invalid? Your a customer so it shouldn't be.

95% of professional sports coaches were never pro's themselves. I'm fairly sure Roger Federer would destroy his tennis coach in a set of tennis.

You shouldn't dismiss people by saying they are not qualified to give Philip Bloom or anyone else criticism. I myself, in an earlier comment, gave him a positive critique of this video which he thanked me for.

95% of professional sports coaches were never players? That is so far from the truth it's not even funny.

My point is this, if you do consider yourself a "professional" you should conduct yourself in a more respectful manner when it comes to the work of other pros in your field.

Your points about someone bitching to a professional cook validate my argument.

Someone that doesn't know what a professional chef goes through would bitch about a meal they didn't like but another professional chef would have the respect and decency to leave it alone. Maybe if you have been in the field for a while and someone asks for your opinion you can point them in the "right" direction. Like you said, art is EXTREMELY subjective and what one person thinks sucks, another could love. So what the hell good does it do to rip someones hard work and disguise it as "constructive" when it's purely subjective?

Your examples summed up the general audience and excused that type of behavior among professionals.

As a short done as a favor and for free this piece is very fine. Indeed.

That said, it doesn't mean it couldn't have been much better. And if I may, to all those praising this short without limits, let me ask these questions: if this was done by some unknown guy, would you still find it that great (compared to all other Vimeo stuff out there) and if you weren't related to the singer, would you want to see this clip again, or even till it finishes?

As a professional creative director I know sometimes ideas look better on paper than what the final result ends up doing. This is one of those cases, and in my opinion it was because the idea was too simple and underdeveloped. Let's not forget the work to do here was NOT to make a video, but a marketing element to promote a product (a singer/song), and if the result is a video that the targeted audience finds too boring to watch (did a small poll), the producer of the piece hasn't served the client properly.
I know this was made for free, but still, those principles always apply and have nothing to do with budget (or lack thereof).

On a tech side, I saw this short with a DP on a break while shooting a tv commercial, and except for the "strip" and "cinema" scenes, he thought the lighting was terrible, just as I did.
First off, relying just on practicals and mixing color temperatures is simply calling for disaster. A small dedo with CTB is pretty much useless and LEDs, due to their horrible spikes on the spectrum, make people look like corpses. All that show on terrible skin tones. Besides, aiming lights directly at people is only done on ENG, but NOT on narrative, where everything is CONTROLLED diffusion and bouncing, to provide smooth lighting without harsh shadows or hot spots on skin.
For a guerilla-shot, there was a pretty healthy crew, which is precisely what you use to hold flags, bed boards, nets, reflectors and diffusers (1stop, 250, 150..) specially on location and on the run. That's precisely what lighting is all about: to block offending lights, bring shadow and tonalities, separate BK from foreground and most of all, create shape, depth and mood (which you then later finish off with secondaries, while grading). So it's not only adding lights, but most of all, negative fill and modifying existing light, specially if you don't have many light instruments at hand.
All this is never constrained by budget but by knowledge. We all have work for a favor once in a while without much equipment. Haven't we?

Anyway, I guess I might be swimming against an overwhelming tide of praisers, but I learnt early on to only listen to criticism, otherwise you never learn.
As I said at the beginning, the short is fine for something done for free, but so are many of those Vimeo aficionado-shorts, some of them being (to me) better, despite being done with even smaller crews and cheaper gear.

Nothing is done for free! There is always an opportunity cost. In this case it's all about keeping alive a profile. Re: video, the singer has a good voice and I felt the visuals overpowered the delicate melody.

I loved the video. The BTS was educative. Liked the way the 1D C was kept in the fridge for the shot. This shows the importance of planning.

I am stunned by the way people are commenting here. Whereas the traffic might help in bringing revenues, abusive comments is going to drive away good people. If someone would have used the word "hipster friends" to me, I would have been pretty much offended.

Phillip, thanks for putting yourself out there again and posting this, very good. Just a couple of questions re camera in the fridge. I have had experience when I changed temperature / moisture conditions with my camera the lense fogs up, did you have this issue in the fridge. also how did you get a video signal to a monitor outside the fridge?

Thanks again.
Jayson
(A pro who is distracted by another P Bloom post)

Luke I can't reply to your latest comment for some reason, hopefully you see this.

Evidently we are not going to agree, I dont think you understand some of my arguments based on your reply. It seems like you have softened your argument substantially from your original comment. You are certainly speaking in a less provocative manner

To sum up my point of view.

I think criticism is useful. I think everyone should look to criticise their own work and others (criticism can be good things too) rather then passively watch something.

I think whether someone listens or takes heed of your criticism is up to them and almost irrelavent.

I do not think,as you seem to,that you need to be qualified to give criticism. I think that's a dangerous road to go down. I think everyone is entitled to have an opinion and to voice that opinion.

Phillip - thanks so much for this generous look at your work and organization; there aren't many who could have shot this so fast and so well. Boo on those here who crap on things like what is amateur what is color balance, and can't understand image manipulations away from factory standards (lighten up!) -hope you don't mind if I ask quick tech questions not covered or visible - what is the fluid head, the monitor, were you shooting with stock firmware, if LED lights, which ones? thanks - I love fast and lightweight shooting and love Wes Anderson. You are brilliant, sir.

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